As I make my way down the dirt path, the house comes into view. Most of the windows are boarded up. There are no cars in the driveway, but the dirt has been disturbed, so someone has been here recently.
The front door has a padlock on it, which is odd. I head around to the back of the house. The windows on this side aren’t boarded up. And in fact, one is broken. The window is low. It must lead to a basement.
I get closer and then freeze. There’s blood on the frame. Fresh, bright against the rusted sill. My stomach drops. Not a lot, but enough. Too much.
Then I spot the key fob in the grass.
“Savvy?” I call in through the window. I peer in, but no one is there.
She’s gone. Did she escape? Was she recaptured?
I turn around, and the property is surrounded by trees and underbrush. She likely wouldn’t risk getting lost in thewoods. Well, that’s if she’s thinking straight. Who knows what has happened to her?
“Axel?” Moose calls from the front of the house.
“I’m here,” I yell.
He finds me.
“How did you get here so fast?” I ask.
“I was actually in the area when Reed called. Any sign of her?”
I point to the ground. “There’s some blood, and I found the key fob.” I hold it up. “She’s gone, and we have no idea where she is or how badly she’s hurt. Dammit!”
We run back to the front, and I race down the driveway to the road. Moose is right behind me.
A man steps out from the house next door and glares at us.
“Hey!” I shout. “Did you see a woman run through here?” I pull up the one photo I have of her as I move closer to him. I hold it up. “Her?”
He stares at the photo, then shakes his head. “She missing or something?”
“She was kidnapped and taken to that house, but no one is there now.” I point in its direction.
“That house is abandoned. Haven’t seen anyone around it in years,” he says.
“Thanks,” I say as I return to Moose.
We return to the back of the house again and study the broken window closely. There is blood on a sharp piece still attached to the frame.
“Looks like she broke out to me,” Moose says. “Andthen…” He squats down outside the window and looks around. Then he points to his right. “I’d go that way.”
He walks to the edge of the lawn and through a bush. I follow him. On the other side is a dirt path.
“How did you know this was here?” I ask.
“I saw it when I squatted down.”
The path leads us to the next property. The lights are on, and it appears someone is home. I knock on the door, and when a woman answers, I show her Savvy’s photo and ask if she’s seen her.
Again, no luck.
“She might keep walking until she sees something she’s familiar with,” Moose says. “Let’s go back and get your car and check every road through here.”
I nod, and we jog back down the path and toward the vacant house. We spend the next few hours looking for Savvy. But we don’t find her, and now it’s dark. Finally, I take Moose back to the house so he can get his car. He’s going to find us some food while I continue the search.
As we approach the house, headlights shine at us.
